You look for many things when a candidate submits an application to start the hiring process with your organization – what their qualifications are, if they’d fit into the job, how much work experience they have, so on and so forth. But before a candidate hits “submit” to their application, they’re already reviewing something else: if they can even manage to fill out the application at all.
Failure to Communicate
In a recent study about candidate experiences, the number one issue that caused a poor candidate experience was unclear application instructions. Poor application instructions won by a landslide too, with 93% of those surveyed about what makes a poor candidate experience said that not being able to understand the application deterred them from even applying.
To say then that this is a big issue would be an understatement. This is a huge issue.
Failure to communicate to an applicant what they need to be doing in order to properly apply for the position sets a bad precedence: it discourages the applicant from investing time in your organization, it builds a reputation if the candidate chooses to share their experiences, and it’s a poor reflection on your organization. Think about how many times you’ve gotten poor instructions with a product you just purchased, or directions to a place you want to go – you spend more time just trying to understand what they’re saying than actually doing what needs to be done. But unlike traveling or using a product, the job candidate can just choose to walk away from the situation and look elsewhere.
Unnoticeably Correct
When things are done correctly your candidates won’t even notice – and that’s a very good thing.
Having a clear, effectively communicated experience throughout the hiring process is something that candidates won’t notice. It’s akin to spelling when you’re reading something – you don’t notice all the correctly spelled words in something you’re reading, only the ones that are incorrectly spelled and disrupt the flow of your experience. The same rules apply for the candidate: they won’t stop and say “wow this is really clear and easy!” because they’ll be too busy engaging in the hiring process, rather than being hindered by it.
This applies throughout the entire hiring process experience, but it’s especially important when you use additional hiring tools like hiring assessments. Instructions on a basic application might be easy to explain or figure out, but as a candidate moves further into the hiring process and starts with the hiring assessments they might be much more inclined to give up before spending too much time on things like job simulations and personality testing.
Clear instructions and expectations for each hiring assessment doesn’t just make the lives of your job candidates easier, it ensures that your job candidates remain committed to the process and don’t give up and apply elsewhere. Confusing, unclear, or vague directions on hiring assessments is a huge deterrent to candidates, so prevent them from giving up by evaluating where your assessments could be clearer and make necessary improvements.
